Sunday, April 17, 2011
I mentioned in my previous entry that the Israelites believed if they looked upon God, they would die. I don't know about you but I think that's pretty interesting. If they caught a glimpse of the source of their life, it would kill them. Very interesting. The Israelites knew this, but they insisted on seeing him. You see, idol worship was big back in the day (those days), partially because of the polytheistic society, but also, because the people wanted some sort of idea of what God looked like. The golden calf incident that took place, while Moses was on Mount Sinai, was not because the Israelites were trying to create another God to worship, in reality, they were just trying to create a visual image of THE God, the Lord, to worship.
God knew this desire of his people, and in his time, the Word became flesh. God took on the form of man, thus giving us an image of himself. "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). That interesting belief that seeing God meant death, was reversed, and rightly so. Life comes from God and as Jesus says himself, "I came so that you might have life and have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).
While the Israelites were moving about the desert, they were pretty bad at a lot of things (keeping the commandments) and really good at one thing (complaining). They were fantastic at whining and complaining (we still are huh?). "The people complained against God and Moses, 'Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert, where there is no food or water? We are disgusted with this wretched food'" (Numbers 21:5). God, in his anger from these complaints, sent "fiery serpents" amongst the people. The people who were bit by the serpents would become sick and eventually die, and so the Israelites begged for forgiveness. God in his mercy, told Moses to create a bronze serpent and raise it up on a pole. When the people who had been bitten by one would look at the serpent that was raised up, it would heal them. The source of there pain, became the source of their healing.
God gives us crosses in our lives. We all have one, or some. Kind of like the fiery serpents for the Israelites. When Jesus, our source of life, is taken and raised up on the cross, like the serpent, we are healed, we are brought back to life. The pains of the cross, when looked upon with Jesus nailed to it and raised up, becomes the source of our healing.
Holy Thursday, when Christ provides for us by giving us bread and wine, his body and blood to eat and drink, let us not complain. Good Friday, when Jesus will be lifted up, let us all look upon Him and be healed. Easter Sunday (and Saturday night), let us rejoice and celebrate with the Lord who has won for us life and salvation by defeating death, by death.
Welcome to Holy week. Don't let it pass you by without receiving the gifts, the healing, and the life Christ desires so much to give you. Let us move from death to life.
Heaven and earth collide.
